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Ability to buy Tesla Warranty via website gone?

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There's nothing in the contract that indicates it can be transferred by contacting Tesla. To me it looks like it is not transferable to a private buyer. Why would they not want to transfer it? Is there some legal issue?

There is no legal issue as virtually every other car manufacturer allows you to transfer an extended warranty to someone else if your car is sold. There is usually a small administrative fee for the warranty transfer and that is it. Incidentally Tesla used to have such a provision.

This policy is horrible for Tesla owners. As their cars reach 50,000 miles or beyond they may have a hard time selling their cars private party even if hey had bought an ESA warranty from Tesla as it seems since November of 2015 the ESA is no longer transferable to someone who buys the car. Prior to that, Tesla had a convoluted process for transferring the warranty and now they've made it even worse by even taking that away.

This to me seems like something put in place to make sure Tesla owners will not compete with Tesla's own CPO sales. Why else would they essentially prohibit the transfer of ESA warranties when once there was such a process.
 
How are you the first owner of a Pre-Owned vehicle?

It means that only the original purchaser of a CPO car can purchase the Service Plan. So if someone buys a CPO car, they can purchase a Service plan for the car within the first 60 days. If that person sells it to someone else, that person can't purchase the Service Plan even if that is within 60 days of the CPO purchase by the original buyer.

So now would it really be that hard for Tesla to just let the original buyer of a CPO car also be eligible for purchasing an ESA just like they are eligible for purchasing a Service Plan? :)

Can a Service Plan be purchased at any time?
No, you must purchase the Service Plan within 60 days after the delivery of a new or qualified Pre-Owned vehicle.
 
Like I said above, the revision date on the current ESA contract is November, 2015.

So this isn't "new". It's probably that nobody noticed it just yet.

Link:
https://www.teslamotors.com/sites/d...ments/na_tesla_warranty_plan_agreement_ot.pdf

I also highlighted the "BY YOU" part above... that doesn't mean Tesla can't transfer the ESA with the proper documentation and procedure outlined above.

There's a reason they added the "BY YOU" part, otherwise they could have just left it out and have the same effect that it's just "non-transferrable".

Thanks for posting the link to the full version from 11/15. There are three changes from the old version that are convincing me that this thing is simply not transferable to a new owner.

1. The section I quoted before about the transfer procedure is gone.

2. As you said, the words "not transferable by You" in this section.
You acknowledge and agree that You shall be responsible for all applicable state and local taxes on the purchase price, Deductible or Ranger Service as required by law. Any such applicable taxes are not included in the purchase price of this Vehicle ESA. This Vehicle ESA is not transferrable by You under any circumstances.
That doesn't sound like "you have to follow a procedure." It sounds like "it's not allowed."

3. The changes to section G quoted here.
G. Eligible Purchaser and Territory
This Vehicle ESA applies to a Vehicle sold by Tesla directly to You in the Tesla North America Service Region. For purposes of this Vehicle ESA, the Tesla North America Service Region is defined as all 50 states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, and all 13 provinces and territories of Canada, provided that You are the original purchaser who purchased the Vehicle directly from Tesla and that You return to the North America Service Region in order to receive service pursuant to this Vehicle ESA.
I interpret this as "if a person didn't buy the car from Tesla, then they can't have the ESA." So a person who buys from me is excluded.

Add it all up and it looks pretty definitive: any ESA purchased after 11/12/15 is non transferable.

This means that I will either take a hit on the sale of my car or be subject to the lowball trade-in offer that Tesla will give. Not happy about this at all. :cursing:
 
This means that I will either take a hit on the sale of my car or be subject to the lowball trade-in offer that Tesla will give. Not happy about this at all. :cursing:

That's essentially the end result...

+ If you are a Tesla owner you will get low balled by Tesla on your trade because now they know your options/market to sell the car is even more limited.
+ If you are a Tesla owner and sell private party, you will get low balled because someone is buying a car with no or very limited warranty or the option to extend the warranty.

It's too bad Tesla has decided to make their bad extended warranty even worse. This bad policy affects Tesla more than another manufacturer making such a policy change because only Tesla can service or sell parts for a Tesla and there are really no third party warranty companies I know of that will cover all the unique components of a Tesla.
 
Oh, by the way, according to the contract, court (small claims or otherwise) is not an option. I can only pursue 3rd party arbitration, and that's AFTER I submit the complaint to their dispute settlement program. Even still, retaliation is a major concern here.
Can still file and force them to appear. That's good leverage to get a decent settlement.
 
Like I said above, the revision date on the current ESA contract is November, 2015.

So this isn't "new". It's probably that nobody noticed it just yet.

Link:
https://www.teslamotors.com/sites/d...ments/na_tesla_warranty_plan_agreement_ot.pdf

I also highlighted the "BY YOU" part above... that doesn't mean Tesla can't transfer the ESA with the proper documentation and procedure outlined above.

There's a reason they added the "BY YOU" part, otherwise they could have just left it out and have the same effect that it's just "non-transferrable".

When I sold My Model S in September, I was trying to follow the instruction in the service agreement and Contacted Tesla to ask where to send the $100 transfer fee, etc. They said that the transfer fee was no longer required, and they just needed the new owners information, and my release of ownership document, and when the car transferred to him in the system, the service agreement went to him automatically.

It seemed to me that they had greatly improved the transfer process from the documented process. I think it would be strange just 2 month later, they they would completely make the service contracts non transferable.

I think the transfer process has to be done by them, you can't just sign it over to another party, without them knowing about it, etc.

in any case, you can still sell back the unused portion if it's not transferable. Honestly, it probably would have been a better deal for me if I'd done that. I don't think the buyer appreciated the value of 5 annual services.
 
It seemed to me that they had greatly improved the transfer process from the documented process. I think it would be strange just 2 month later, they they would completely make the service contracts non transferable.

I think the transfer process has to be done by them, you can't just sign it over to another party, without them knowing about it, etc.

This is exactly what I'm thinking, while everyone else is like "the sky is falling!!"

This is the point I've been trying to make with the "BY YOU" terms. It's there for a reason.
 
When I sold My Model S in September, I was trying to follow the instruction in the service agreement and Contacted Tesla to ask where to send the $100 transfer fee, etc. They said that the transfer fee was no longer required, and they just needed the new owners information, and my release of ownership document, and when the car transferred to him in the system, the service agreement went to him automatically.

It seemed to me that they had greatly improved the transfer process from the documented process. I think it would be strange just 2 month later, they they would completely make the service contracts non transferable.

I think the transfer process has to be done by them, you can't just sign it over to another party, without them knowing about it, etc.

in any case, you can still sell back the unused portion if it's not transferable. Honestly, it probably would have been a better deal for me if I'd done that. I don't think the buyer appreciated the value of 5 annual services.
You had tesla transfer the prepaid service or the extended warranty or both?
 
I think the transfer process has to be done by them, you can't just sign it over to another party, without them knowing about it, etc.

in any case, you can still sell back the unused portion if it's not transferable. Honestly, it probably would have been a better deal for me if I'd done that. I don't think the buyer appreciated the value of 5 annual services.
With the inspections that's fine, but the buyer would no longer be able to buy a new ESA, which could really hurt the resale value.
 
You had tesla transfer the prepaid service or the extended warranty or both?
Just the extended service contract. I did not have an extended warranty.

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With the inspections that's fine, but the buyer would no longer be able to buy a new ESA, which could really hurt the resale value.
I don't think not being able to buy an ESA really does much either way to the value. Many people prefer not to pre pay for service.

It might help a little, but I think lowering the sales price by $2000-$3000 probably would have a bigger impact.
 
I don't think not being able to buy an ESA really does much either way to the value.

Don't be so sure about that. With what we've heard about reliability and out of warranty cost for Tesla repairs, Extended warranty coverage is our most important consideration when looking to purchase a Tesla.

So far Tesla has done a remarkable job of holding resale values high and I feel this policy will needlessly cause Tesla vehicles to be hit with extra depreciation in the used car market. This policy change is especially horrible for any Tesla owners who had planned on selling their cars private party with an Extended Warranty (ESA) transferred to the buyer.
 
Just the extended service contract. I did not have an extended warranty.

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I don't think not being able to buy an ESA really does much either way to the value. Many people prefer not to pre pay for service.

It might help a little, but I think lowering the sales price by $2000-$3000 probably would have a bigger impact.

You're talking about the prepaid service plan. The Extended Service Agreement (ESA) is what most people call an extended warranty. I agree with you that many people would not care about the prepaid service. But not having the ESA or the ability to get it is a big deal.
 
This is from an email on Dec 6 when I was on the fence about buying the ESA. I thought $4k for a $200 deductible per item was insane.
So I emailed my local SC directly ... and they told me, quote:

From our website:
Extended service agreement, $4,000
Covers the Model S repair or replacement of parts due to defects in materials or workmanship provided by Tesla. Coverage lasts for an additional four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first, and begins on the date your original warranty expires.

Currently, there is no deductible for repairs.

snip

Your car currently shows 4x,xxx miles, so please hurry. This purchase needs to be completed before 50,000 miles.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions.

This has now changed ... they (local SC) confirmed today that it is $200 deductible per visit but not due and payable until 30 days after your car trips the 50,000 mile mark.
 
You're talking about the prepaid service plan. The Extended Service Agreement (ESA) is what most people call an extended warranty. I agree with you that many people would not care about the prepaid service. But not having the ESA or the ability to get it is a big deal.
Ah, Sorry. I mixed the two. I only had the Prepaid Service Agreement.

At $4000 + $200 deductible per repair item, the ESA/warranty never seemed like a very good deal to me (especially as high mileage driver, 50k miles is only 2.5 years)

I still think it would be easier selling the car with $4000 lower price tag. In my experience, private sale used car buyers are very up front cost sensitive, and $4k is a lot of money.
 
I had planned to purchase the ESA towards the end of the initial warranty. I am a low mileage driver and plan to regularly service my vehicle. Since I purchased after 11/12/15, this recent change doesn't personally affect me.

I feel better about purchasing 8 years of service, however.

My enthusiasm is not dampened but I hope Tesla makes trading up financially attractive in 4-6 years. By that time there will be a lot more options for those desiring high-tech EVs.